Working with Tasks & Events

How Can I...up

Activities play an important role in daily business operations. Activities can be either time bound calendar events, such as meetings, seminars, appointments, etc., or status bound tasks, such as send status report to manager, send email to customer, etc. In Zoho CRM, most of the records have activities as a related list for a better 360 degree view. You can associate activities with modules, such as leads, accounts, contacts, potentials, campaigns, etc. Under the Activities Module, you can store information related to Tasks, Events, and Calls.

Create Tasks

A task is a specific piece of work required to be done within a given time frame. They are listed in the Zoho CRM's Home page of the user, Activities home page and in other related records.

Availability

Profile Permission Required: Access to the Activities Tab that includes View, Create, Edit and Delete permissions.

To create tasks

In the Activities module, click New Task.You can also create a task from within a record by clicking the New Task link in the Open Activities related list.

In the Create Task page, specify the task details.

Click Save.

Note

Tasks will be closed, only when the Status of the task is updated as Completed.

The status, Completed, is a system defined field. An alternate custom field with the same label will not close the task automatically.

Create Events

An event is an activity that happens at a given place and time. They are listed in the Zoho CRM's Home page of the user, Activities home page, Calendar and in other related records.

Availability

Profile Permission Required: Access to the Activities Tab that includes View, Create, Edit and Delete permissions.

To create events

In the Activities module, click New Events.

In the New Event popup, specify the event details.

Click Save.

To create events from Calendar

Click the Calendar icon and select the Day, Week or Month view.

In the Calendar, click the Create link or click on a time slot in the calendar.

In the New Event popup, specify the event details.

Click Save.

Note

Events are automatically closed at the specified end date and time. There is no status update for events.

Create Recurring Activities

An activity can be repeated by using the recurring option while creating tasks and events.

Availability

Profile Permission Required: Access to the Activities Tab that includes View, Create, Edit and Delete permissions.

To create recurring activities

In the Activities module, click New Task or New Event. You can also create a task from within a record by clicking the New Task/New Event link in the Open Activities related list.

In the Create Task/Event page, specify the activity-related details.

Select the Recurring Activity check box and do the following:

Specify the Start Date and End Date for the activity to be repeated.

Specify the Repeat Type for the activity and select the options accordingly (Refer to the table below).

Click Save.

Daily - Fields

Description

Everyday

Select this if the activity should be repeated everyday.

Recur every ___ day(s)

Select this to specify how often in days the activity should be repeated.

Weekly - Fields

Description

Recur every ____week(s)

Enter how often in weeks the activity should be repeated.

Days of the week

Select the check box(es) that correspond to the day(s) of the week on which the recurrence should occur.

Monthly - Fields

Description

On day __ of every ___ month(s)

Enter how often in months and on the specified date the activity should be repeated.

On____ ____ of every ___ month

Select a particular day when the activity should be repeated every month.

Yearly - Fields

Description

On every___ ____

Enter how often in a year the activity should be repeated.

On ____ ____ of ____

Enter how often in a year and on the specified date the activity should be repeated.

Set Reminders

There are two options for reminders:

Alert through Email

Alert through Pop-up

For tasks, you have the option to choose the type of reminder you want. For events, both the reminders options are enabled and cannot be disabled while adding an event from the Activities tab. However, your Calendar may have different reminder options. In your calendar preferences, you can turn off just the Email reminder. The pop-up reminder cannot be disabled.

Availability

Profile Permission Required: Access to the Activities Tab that includes View, Create, Edit and Delete permissions.

To set reminders for tasks

In the Activities tab, click on the task for which you want to set reminders.

In the Task Details page, click Edit.

Select the Remind At check box and do the following:

Specify the date and time when you want the reminder.

Specify the recurrence pattern. (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc.)

Choose Alert Through Email or Alert Through Pop-up as required.

Click Save.

Add Invitees

To invite multiple users, leads, or contacts to the event

In the Activities tab, click on the event for which you want to add invitees.

In the Event Details page, click Actions > Add Participants.You can also clikc Edit and add participants for the event in the popup box.

In Add Participants pop-up window, select the group from which you want to add participants.You can also directly search for Users, Leads, Contacts, etc.

In the list of Users, Leads, or Contacts, select the corresponding check box(es).

In the Invite by E-mail Address text box, specify email address of people you want to invite and whose details are not available in Zoho CRM.

Click Add.

Book Hotels for an Event

While organizing events in different locations, booking hotels for a proper stay becomes an important task. The Book Hotels option for Event records in Zoho CRM is powered by TravelNow, the Expedia Affiliate. With this option in all your future event records in Zoho CRM, you need not worry about finding the best offers and best hotels in the desired locations, to book for your team.

Availability

Permission Required: All users can make hotel reservations for future events.

To book hotels for an event

In the Activities tab, click on the event for which you want to book hotels.

In the Event'sDetails page, click BookNow. Alernatively, you can scroll to the BookHotel section to book.

In the Book Hotel section, specify the following details: The Where to, Check-In and Check-Out details will be populated automatically from the event's details.

Modify the Where to, Check-In and Check-Out details, if required. The check-in and check-out dates are automatically set as one day before the event's start date and the event's closing date, respectively.

In the Near field, select one of the locations to check the hotels nearby.All the major locations in the specified city will be listed.

Click the Edit icon to edit the number of rooms that you want to book. In each booking, you can book 4 rooms. You can click on the Remove link if you want to remove a room booking.

Select the number of Adults and Children per room. Rooms for members below 18 years needs to be booked under Child category.

Click Done.

Set filters for Price, Star Rating and Trip Advisor Rating to filter hotels based on this.

From the list of hotels, click on a hotel. You will be redirected to the TravelNow website where you can view more details and book the hotel.

Note

After booking, you will receive an email confirming the reservation details.

You can book 4 rooms in each booking.

You can make hotel reservations up to 28 days.

You can plan ahead for events scheduled to take place in the next 500 days from a given date.

Synchronize Booking Details

After making hotel reservations, you can sync the booking details with Zoho CRM so that the deatils are readily available along with the other event details. In order to manually sync the booking details, you need the itinerary number and the email address with which the rooms were reserved.

To sync booking details

In the Activities tab, click on the event for which you have reserved hotel rooms through TravelNow.

Under Bookings, click the Add link.

Specify the ItineraryNumber you receieved on hotel reservations and the EmailAddress used to book.